Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi everyone im mojo and i just got a gecko a week ago and the previous owner had this for a set up 10g with black sand and a heating pad 2,half log hiding places and water and food dishes and 2 lights one is red heat lamp and other is a black light...he told me i had to have one light on at all time the red one during the day and black one at night and i did this for a couple days until i researched a lil bout geckos and i read that they need a temp of 82-86F during day and can go as low as 62F at night with no ill effects but i lil werey on info on the net it can be incorrect so i posting to get some help..when i found out bout the temp i put a aquarium thermometer in the sand to get the temp and had the red lamp on all day it read over 100F so i immediately shut off red light during the day and left thermometer in there and now with just the heating pad the temp is round 80-90F..but i dont know if im doing it wrong with wrong thermometer or otherwise so any advise would be greatly appreciated

can anyone help me plzzzzzz??!!

Howdy,

The general consensus is that the temperature of the warm end of you terrarium should rest somewhere between 80 - 88 F (during the day, anywhere in the low 70s at night should be fine). Since your gecko regulates his or her body temperature using the temperature gradient in you terrarium, where the gecko resides is probably a good indication of how appropriate your temperature gradient is. If you gecko rarely ventures to the warm side, it's probably too hot. This being said, a warm temperature in the mid 80's is a good place to shoot for, and your 100 F is definitely too hot. I have an UTH and a red light for heating purposes (I bought the UTH because the terrarium is in my room and I thought the red light might affect my sleep, but I've found it doesn't bother me at all), and I only really use the heating lamp since it allows me to view my little guy at night without affecting the lizard. I found my lamp was a little too hot when I first set up my terrarium so I downgraded from a 150 W bulb to a 100 W bulb and I also purchased a variable powerbar. I would highly recommend the variable powerbar because it allows you to manually adjust the temperature of either a UTH or a lamp simply by twisting a dial. Personally I have found turning the powerbar up to medium during the daytime and down to low for the evening hours gives me a good balance of heat in my terrarium and I find my leopard gecko spends a lot of time on the warm side of the terrarium, a good sign that the temperature is adequate. I rarely use the UTH, but if you prefer you could certainly scrap the lamp and use the UTH instead - I would still recommened a variable powerbar (should be available at your local pet store) to give you better control of your terrarium temperature.

I would also recommend a digital thermometer (you can get a decent one for $15 or so) to ensure you're getting a proper temperature reading. Bottom line - pay attention to your gecko, I personally leave my warm side terrarium temperature a little warmer at night (75 - 78 F) to help my little guy digest since I feed him at dusk, and he seems to appreciate the warmer temperature.

Good luck with your new critter!

- Robes

what is a UTH? and i thank you for getting back to me ..as for what u are sayin i guess the sites i researched are correct for temp wise ...sure glad i stopped using the red light that made it way to hot ...and u said to watch him i do watch him but i dont know what to look for this is my first lizard ever lol..u also said to see if he goes to warm side of tank i dont get that part? it has a heating pad under tank and he only goes from water dish to side of the hiding log but the heating pad is more in the front of the tank with lil of it stickin out from under tank so area he goes in isnt really the warms part? i would think anyways.

UTH is just an under tank heater.

All I'm saying is that if your gecko avoids the warm/hot part of your terrarium (ie/ directly above your heater or below your light), it's probably too hot.

Most gecko's will spend much of their time on the warm side of the terrarium (depending on your ambient temperature and therefore the temperature of your cool side), especially after feeding in order to help their digestion.

- Robes

oh ok i thought it was cause he was getting used to not having the really hot light on like the previous owner had on... i dont know where he got his info but i surprised hes not burnt ..also my gecko has a tendency to just eat wax worms i posted in other post asked bout this issue to get him to eat other worms how many days do i need to let him go hungry for?withoyt makin him sick tho,and also how do i pick off the skin he has skin on his toes we tried to but dindt want to come off ..sorry i askin soo many question i just dont know wherre to begin lol

If the black sand you are talking about is calci-sand, I would take it out and use washed sandbox sand instead. There have been cases of calci-sand causing impactions.

IMHO leos need to know when its daytime....so, because I keep them in a room that is fairly dark (due to curtains) I just use regular incandescent bulbs during the daytime and/or florescents....whatever it takes to get the heat up to what it should be during the day. At night, I use no lights or UTH because the room temperature is usually in the mid 70's F.

well i have his cage in my livingroom and its fairly bright in daytime and again i dont know what a UTH is u talkin to a newbie here lol and i not sure what kind of sand that is i have heard bout sand impacts and i guess im tryin to get some help on what is best cause i dont want to kill lil guy before i get started even...how do i post pics on this site too? was another question i had maybe i could post pics so u could get better idea on what i have for sand and setup etc